Remember Slipstream? It was a huge catchphrase among science fiction authors and readers back in the 1990s, denoting strange works of fiction that blend realism and fantastical elements. And now, thanks to authors like Kelly Link and David Mitchell, it may finally be going mainstream, a new Wall Street Journal article… »2/04/15 1:43pm 2/04/15 1:43pm

The first time I met Jay Lake, he was greeting people at a convention party in a Hawaiian shirt and joking, "That's right. I'm Cancer Guy." Lake was willing to joke about his identity as cancer survivor, while also inspiring others. But his identity as a writer and editor of groundbreaking SF was even more important. »6/01/14 2:15pm 6/01/14 2:15pm

It's just the law of apocalypses: You can't feature the destruction of all (or most) life on Earth, without throwing in a gloomy monologue explaining exactly how we blew it all to hell. It's the way things work around here. Typically, these monologues include scenes of devastation as well as a droning voice talking… »12/11/12 1:35pm 12/11/12 1:35pm

It's just the law of apocalypses: You can't feature the destruction of all (or most) life on Earth, without throwing in a gloomy monologue explaining exactly how we blew it all to hell. It's the way things work around here. Typically, these monologues include scenes of devastation as well as a droning voice talking… »6/12/09 12:00pm 6/12/09 12:00pm

If you want to participate in some old-school scifi swashbuckling on savage planets with alien women, your rocket ship has arrived. The game is the latest from Savage Worlds, which specializes in adventures organized around Plot Points rather than GM-created scenarios. io9 co-conspirator Ed Grabianowski writes on his … »1/29/09 4:30pm 1/29/09 4:30pm

Jeff VanderMeer is one of those authors whose books seep into your brain, trickle down your spine, and lodge somewhere deep in the insect parts of your DNA. Heavily influenced by Lovecraft, VanderMeer is perhaps best known for the dreamy-crawly short story collection City of Saints and Madmen, set in the brooding… »3/06/08 10:24am 3/06/08 10:24am

If steam trains had ever looked like this, you can be assured that a) bandits would never mess with them without seriously upgrading their own armaments, and b) people would probably still be using trains for their preferred mass transit vehicle of choice. »3/04/08 3:13pm 3/04/08 3:13pm

Be Kind Rewind, Michel Gondry's new movie, is a thematic sequel to his best film, Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind. In Eternal Sunshine, a mysterious brain-editing machine can erase your memories of a shitty relationship, leaving you free to reinvent yourself. In Be Kind Rewind, Jack Black gets magnetized and… »2/21/08 9:00am 2/21/08 9:00am